A tour of California cattle country

June 30, 2011

If you told me four years ago I’d have opportunities to travel and talk with cattlemen and women about their operations, I probably wouldn’t have believed you—check that, I definitely would not have. But, oh, how life loves to throw curveballs. So here I am, a man with an emotional bond to the wheres, whys, hows, whats, whens and whos of American beef production.

Fresh out of college and awaiting my Cal Poly diploma to arrive in the mail, recently I embarked on a tour of four Angus cattle ranches in Northern California.

First stop was Rancho Casino in Denair, a valley town outside Turlock just off Highway 99. There I met David Madeiros,who,come to find out, graduated with a degree in animal science from Cal Poly (Go Mustangs!). Also present was Dale Bellini, a rancher who buys his registered Angus bulls from Rancho Casino for his commercial operation.

Even though urban sprawl threatens their lush pasture, David’s herd holds its ground and is content with their lay of land. The cattle lazily graze and flip their tails under the hot valley sun, and David pays homage to Angus genetics: Disposition is one of his MVPs in the EPD game.

After a plate of the best beef enchiladas I’ve ever eaten (and I’m being honest), it was off to Brentwood. We Californians call this area the San Joaquin River Delta or Sacramento Delta. Many Californian farmers and ranchers depend on the water that’s allocated from this region. Continue reading “A tour of California cattle country”

How to get them to pay more for that rib eye

June 28, 2011

Over on the Beef Daily Blog yesterday, Amanda asks, “How much will you pay for that rib eye?” That caught my attention for two reasons:

First, because we get all our meat as freezer beef, pork and chicken from my parents or my in-laws, we get a pretty darn good discount. I often think of how high our grocery bill would be if we tacked on all the meat we consume in a week and I wonder how much I would pay. Would my supper selections be different?

And two, because working for Certified Angus Beef LLC, I’m keenly aware at the price difference between a high-quality product and a commodity one.

A large portion of our staff works on the beef side of the business– that’s from the packing plants forward, so as a whole we spend quite a bit of time analyzing how much people will pay for beef. (Specifically how much of an emphasis they’ll put on quality and how much more they’ll pay for that extra flavor and tenderness.)

So I thought I’d tackle (most of) these questions one-by-one:

“What’s your take on this supply and demand issue?” Continue reading “How to get them to pay more for that rib eye”

It’s not about size

June 27, 2011

I grew up near a small town. (There are about 300 folks in the unincorporated village of East Chain, MN.)

I went to a small country church. (I got to play Mary several years in a row for our Christmas program, since I was the only girl in the right age range.) And I went to a small, consolidated school district where I graduated with 22 people.

In some sense, I guess this philosophy that smaller is better was sort of ingrained in me from an early age and I think many of our rural readers could identify with that.

So sometimes it’s hard to keep it in perspective. Much of the time it’s not about size, but quality. Sometimes it’s about the experience. It’s about the people involved. It’s about opportunities.

All of those things have little to do with size or shape, and that’s why I feel compelled to set the record straight on this little rumor that floats around our industry:

Myth—Large feedlots are just commodity focused. They are too big to care about quality. Continue reading “It’s not about size”

The Navajo Nation

June 24, 2011

On the road took me last week to Crown Point, New Mexico. Tribal ranchers gather at various points on the reservation for educational programs four times per year. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be on their June meeting at the Vocational-Technical school in Crown Point, thanks to an invitation from Mr. Dean Gamble.

The Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture purchased 70 head of purebred Angus bulls from the Stevenson Basin ranch in Montana and leased the bulls to tribal ranchers. The ranchers wanted to learn more about how these Angus bulls could help their bottom line. We discussed the premium for fed cattle that met the CAB brand specifications, as well as the premiums for age and source verification utilizing the AngusSource program. We talked about cow management and how health programs and nutrition subsequently affected CAB acceptance rate. Continue reading “The Navajo Nation”

flavor's secret ingredient, grill flame flavor

We’ve got our own celebrities

June 24, 2011

I love to garden. I was a Minnesota pork ambassador. I work for a beef company.

And I cook supper (almost) every single night from scratch for my family.

When I write all that down I realize how much my life revolves around food. (Oh, and I do love to eat, especially anything that includes chocolate, sugar, beef or bacon.) But I still don’t consider myself a “foodie.”

Nope, they are the folks who talk about pureeing vegetables I’ve never heard of, cooking meals that take days to prepare using utensils that they don’t sell at our local ALCO.

So when I had a recent assignment that got me investigating what our company’s culinary team does, I was impressed to say the least. They are real foodies and they work with foodies. Then I got to thinking, it’s important for others to know about this whole other world because in today’s environment where celebrity chefs (I don’t get cable and I’ve even heard of many of them) are, well, celebrities, they’re pretty important to our business of livestock production. Continue reading “We’ve got our own celebrities”

Dry Wordless Wednesday

June 22, 2011

1,350 miles and 8 stops on tour, 800 photos, gusting wind, no rain. Oklahoma creeks dry or trickling to water herds kept up with cubes and creep. All of it one day closer to a good rain!

Continue reading “Dry Wordless Wednesday”

What quality means to you

June 21, 2011

Last week, we teamed up with our friends at the Ohio Beef Council to host an Explore Beef Tour in southern Ohio.

It was such a pleasure to visit Pedro’s Angus in Hamilton, Ohio again. I first met Bill and Bev last spring to interview them for a story in the Angus Journal and learn about their journey from restauranteurs to ranchers.

Bill, Bev and myself led guests through an education on the scope of the beef industry, different segments of cattle production, daily life on the ranch and common misperceptions of agricultural practices.

We also had Dr. Henry Zerby of The Ohio State University on the speaking lineup. Dr. Zerby covered a variety of topics for our audience, including the science behind the role of beef in a healthy diet and the different beef options in the market place. All very important topics; also topics I am familiar with.

But I tell you what, my head snapped to attention when I heard this come out of Dr. Zerby”s mouth: “Quality might be the most bastardized word in our industry. Anything can be called ”quality,” but what does that mean?” Continue reading “What quality means to you”

Mythbuster Monday: More than an ad agency

June 20, 2011

Sometimes I have a hard time explaining my job.

First off, I’m an agriculture journalist by training, which is a foreign term to many. (My husband is an agronomist, which generates many more blank stares. People usually have heard of a journalist, just not the ag variety.) But then I tell them that I write about everything to do with cows: the cattle industry and topics like weaning, carcass grading and feedlot performance.

So that leaves many dazed and confused but, even among the cattle community, I often have one more hurdle. It can be really hard to explain that I work for a non-profit branded beef company.

These discussions happen almost any time I meet somebody new and for those who are really trying to understand what CAB is and does (rather than nodding politely) it usually leads to this little misunderstanding:

Myth—If you don’t sell product, then you’re just an advertising agency.

Fact—We don’t shy away from the fact that in essence we are a marketing company, but we do a whole lot more than just advertise.

Just ask my colleagues who work with foodservice and retail partners, those in customer service or brand assurance. Or how about all of us on this team you’ve gotten to know as “Supply Development”? Continue reading “Mythbuster Monday: More than an ad agency”

Master of brand advantages

June 16, 2011

You’ve heard of the Harvard MBA, and the NCBA MBA program (Master of Beef Advocacy); but Certified Angus Beef LLC has it’s own MBA: the Master of Brand Advantages!

The CAB MBA (I’ll try not to get too overloaded on acronyms here) has several components, one of which involves participants making a four day trip to visit ranches, feedlots, packing houses, and seedstock operations to learn more about where our product comes from.

The participants are chefs, purveyors, merchandisers, marketers……folks who are an integral part of the “beef chain”. This particular segment of the program gets our partners out to visit the people who engineer the genetics, feed and care for the cattle, finish the cattle, and harvest them. It allows them a first-hand look at what really happens on the ranch,farm,and feedlot.

They can interact with real people, telling the real story, of their commitment to the animals they raise to meet the demand for high quality beef.

One of the three ranch visits that I had the opportunity to be involved with was CB Farms at Preston, KS, owned and managed by Berry and Carla Bortz. Wow! What a super visit; they made me tired just by hearing about the integrated farm and ranch operation’s day-to-day activities. Berry, in the center of the photo to the right, explains how he and Carla manage the commercial cows to some of the participants. Continue reading “Master of Brand Advantages”

Why weaning matters

June 13, 2011

A couple weeks ago, I shared a parenting challenge hoping it would spur you to think about weaning plans. You might think, “Why does CAB care about weaning?”

Well, the animal scientists on our team say weaning is a pivotal point. They pore over tons of research each year (as a matter fact, I think they like abstracts as much as I like Diet Coke and chocolate, which is A LOT, but I digress…). They have found some distinct evidence that blows this myth right out of the water:

Myth— Weaning is weaning. It doesn’t really matter how it’s done or when.

Fact—It seems just about everything about weaning matters to everything from health to final performance and grade. I really learned that two years ago when I did a series on early weaning.

The general consensus is that practice will improve marbling and cow condition, and then there are the benefits like added forage. Of course there are logistics and costs associated with feeding a calf, too. But experts say if you retain ownership you should at least consider the economics of it.

I chatted with Dan Faulkner from the University of Illinois for that story and he said, “We need to get less locked into 205 days and look at low-cost systems to produce quality beef. Every set of resources is unique; there is no one size fits all.” Continue reading “Why weaning matters”